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Try drawing the above puzzle, and then connect all of the nine dots using four straight lines. Go ahead, try it. To solve the problem, you have to join all of the nine dots and you can only use four lines.
Some of you may have seen this exercise before. If not, chances are you're scratching your head now in bewilderment. Even if you have seen it before, it's likely you can't remember exactly how to draw the lines. That's okay, because the lesson behind the exercise is the whole point of it anyway.
So if you've given up, the solution to the puzzle will appear next week insha'allah.
Allah (SWT) said in the Holy Qur'an, Sura'tul Al-i-Imran (3), Ayat 110: “Ye are the Best of Peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is evil, and believing in Allah.” Are we living up to this assignment?
As founder of Volunteers for Allah, established to recruit, train and place volunteers with local masajid, Islamic schools and Islamic organizations, I am faced with the challenge of enrolling people to stretch beyond their present limits – a lack of time, energy, financial resources, transportation and self-confidence among others – and regularly serve our community. In this series of articles, “Thinking Outside of the Box,” we will take a look at some of those limits and I will invite you to consider that we all live within paradigms, based on the society in which we live and our past experiences, that define and set our limits for us.
First, consider our day-to-day lives. The fast-paced and crammed lifestyle that most of us live is simply not conducive to the pursuit of excellence. Add to that the type of society that we live in. Although some things are slowly beginning to change (with soaring divorce, HIV, substance abuse and crime rates; widespread corruption and scandal amongst public officeholders; and epidemic mediocrity in many if not most social, educational and economic institutions, it is not surprising that many of today's leaders, activists and educators are now searching for innovative and non-traditional – which, incidentally, often simply means faith-based, grassroots and/or old-fashioned – means of dealing with these and other social problems), for the most part, we have been neither encouraged nor supported to be extraordinary, creative citizens in this society.
The concept of excellence, which we might define as a superior condition, a quality of being the best, is central to Islam. In Sura'tul Maida (5), Ayat 4, Allah tells us that, as Muslims, we are privileged to follow His Perfected Religion, evolved through a succession of Prophets and Scriptures. It follows that we are indeed the best of all mankind, having the benefit of the Qur'an and the example of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) as well as that of all previous Prophets.
Although this superior status has been conferred upon us by virtue of our profession of faith, we are bound to live up to this assignment by continually striving to develop ourselves. And our pursuit of excellence need not be limited to religious and spiritual arenas. This is evident when we take a look at History and observe the many areas in which Muslims have excelled throughout the ages – Commerce, Government, Military Affairs, the Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Art and Architecture to name a few.
Since the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Muslims have been represented throughout various walks of life. The Prophet himself was the overseer of the business endeavors of his wife, Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her). His Companions, and many other well-known Muslims since their time, have demonstrated excellence in many fields. It is important that we continue their tradition by setting high goals and standards for our performance.
Although in recent years we have witnessed a tremendous decline in such ideals, to the extent that people are actually “joned” (in the words of our youth – i.e., ridiculed) for being smart, conscientious, positively motivated, and for upholding truth and justice, as Muslims we must never succumb to such influences. We must not lower our standards because it has become unfashionable in certain circles to be intelligent, to work hard, to perform above average. We must not ever allow ourselves to become complacent with where we find ourselves, or to become mediocre. It is much easier to be mediocre – neither very good nor very bad; ordinary; average - to be like everyone else than it is to be excellent. I remember when my oldest daughter was in about first grade, I promised to reward her for good report card grades by giving her a dollar for every ‘A' and a quarter for every ‘B' (or quarters for ‘A's' and dimes for ‘B's' – this was a long time ago – my memory fails me now). She immediately asked me, “What about ‘C's'? Can't I get at least a nickel for every ‘C'? Everyone gets ‘C's'.” I went on to explain to her that ‘C' stood for ‘Average' in grading scales, and that was why ‘everyone' got them. I told her that if doing her best earned her a ‘C', that I would be satisfied; however, I felt that she was capable of doing better than average – indeed, that I believed in her potential to perform excellently, Insha'Allah, in whatever areas she chose to do so. This example shows how easily and how early we become comfortable with the thought of mediocrity.
Mediocrity goes against the grain of Islam. “Ye were evolved to be the Best of Mankind” – not those that fall in between. Not the average, not the ordinary, but the Best. And while in today's world, where being average is much easier and being different may cause one to stand out and perhaps even be ridiculed or ostracized, “In a world full of followers (as Muslims we are compelled to), DARE TO BE A LEADER!”
The nine-dots puzzle can only be solved by going outside of the box or square that as humans we tend to construct by joining the eight outer dots with imaginary lines. The instructions for solving the puzzle require only that we use a maximum of four straight lines, but they do not limit us as to how or where we draw those lines.
Just as most of us immediately constructed an imaginary box while attempting to solve this puzzle, daily we construct boxes regarding our capabilities and our limitations (for example, how much time or energy a certain task may require and how much time or energy we don't have with which to do it), and how others will respond to particular circumstances. We construct these boxes based on societal influences and on how we perceive things are and always have been. But what if things are, or could be, really different from the way we perceive them? If we could possibly shift the paradigms through which we view the world sometimes, we could create new possibilities regarding our capabilities and limitations, and those of others. Perhaps, if we allowed ourselves to believe that we actually do have time and the ability to pursue excellence or to make a difference in the world, we actually could.
“If you think you can't, and you think you can't long enough and strong enough, then you can't because you won't. But if you think you can, and you think you can long enough and strong enough, then you will try and in trying, INSHA'ALLAH, you will” (Dr. B.J. Palmer, Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine).
Note: We must always let the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) be our guides, and define our purpose, our behavior, and our limits. However, Allah is truly Merciful, and within the guidelines of Islam, He permits us plenty of room and flexibility within which to serve Him and humankind.
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